Warm Uchiha on a cold heart
by winterhearts
Summary: Tenten's been acting a little cold because she thinks Neji doesn't love her. Can a certain young Uchiha boy warm her heart to love from different people? SasuTen one-shot.


Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Tenten shivered. It was a cold, winter day, and she had forgotten to wear her heavy coat. She had been in a hurry to get out of the house, so she had just put on a sweater. Tenten cursed herself for making such a bad choice.

_Why does it have to be so damn cold?_ Tenten thought. _Anyway, I shouldn't complain. I have a job to do._

Neji was going on a date with Ino (Shikamaru wanted Ino out of his hands for an evening), and he needed Tenten to pick up a corsage at the Sasori Flower Shop, which was in a small village near Konoha. Tenten wondered if Neji would feel anything for Ino after their date. In her mind, Tenten hoped not. She'd thought that Neji would want her. She'd thought that she was the girl who'd be recieving a corsage from Neji Hyuuga.

_But,_ Tenten thought sadly, _I guess that sometimes, things don't go as planned._

Tenten walked to Sasori, feeling upset. She kicked at piles of snow that were in her path. Tenten was upset that Neji was going out with Ino. She was upset that she had to walk out in this almost freezing-cold weather. But the one things that made Tenten the most upset was that she felt like nobody loved her.

Of course, Neji wasn't an option. There was Lee, but Tenten wasn't interested in him as more than a friend. Lee was too busy pining for Sakura Haruno, anyway.

Why pine for someone you know you'll never be able to have? Tenten thought, thinking about Lee, but picturing Neji in her mind. She winced. Neji couldn't like Ino, could he? He just couldn't--

Tenten was so busy grousing about her romantic dilemma that she didn't notice a pothole in the middle of the street. She tripped over it, and was about to fall, when a pair of long arms caught her.

"Tenten!" the voice--male--called out. It obviously wasn't Lee, since he never called his friends without an honorific ('Tenten-san', for example). It wasn't Neji, either. He was still back in Konoha.

Then who saved me? Tenten wondered.

"Tenten! Are you all right?" the voice spoke to Tenten again. Tenten looked up at her hero. She gasped when she realized she was staring in the dark eyes of none other than Sasuke Uchiha. Sasuke had saved Tenten? But why? Tenten had never pegged Sasuke as the type to practice chivalry.

"Uchiha! Why are you here?" Tenten demanded. She was too shocked at the sight of Sasuke to utter a proper thank you.

Sasuke chuckled, a smirk making its way on his face. "Naruto's being a dobe as usual, and Sakura's being annoyed by Naruto, as usual, so I came here to get away for the day," Sasuke replied. "What about you? Shouldn't you be inside, snuggling up with Neji?"

That was enough to stir Tenten's temper. She forced herself out of Sasuke's grip even though it was nice and warm in the Uchiha boy's arms. "Shut up, Uchiha! Neji is on a date with Ino, for your information. I'm just here to buy a corsage at the florist for Neji to give to Ino," she replied angrily.

The smirk on Sasuke's face was visible now. "Hey, I was just kidding, Tenten," he said in that cocky way of his. "And why do you keep calling me Uchiha? I have a first name, you know."

Tenten found herself blushing in front of the dark-haired boy, and she did not like that one bit. She couldn't possibly like Sasuke! For one thing, he was too cocky for Tenten's taste. And for another thing, he was notorious for shooting down girls whenever they liked him. He'd already expressed disinterest in Sakura and Ino. If--and only if!--she did like Sasuke, how did she know that he wouldn't have disinterest in her, too?

"I can call you Uchiha if I want to," said Tenten. "Now, if you don't mind, I have a corsage to buy." She pushed past Sasuke, but he quickly ran in front of her and blocked her path.

"Move, Uchiha!" Tenten growled. Sasuke shook his head.

"Not until you talk to me," Sasuke replied.

"I'm talking to you now, dobe!" Tenten snapped. "You're lucky I don't have my weapons on me now, or I'd-"

"You're jealous of Ino, aren't you? I know you wanted to be the one going out with Neji instead of her," Sasuke replied. In the time he'd known Tenten, Sasuke knew that Tenten had a crush on Neji by the way she acted around him. She could play it off as if she didn't even like Neji, but Sasuke knew better.

"Why do you say that?" Tenten demanded.

"You were looking unhappy when you told me about getting Neji's corsage," said Sasuke. "Just admit it. You like Neji."

"So what if I do?" Tenten snapped. "It isn't any of your business, Uchiha! He probably doesn't like me back, anyway."

Sasuke put a hand on Tenten's shoulder. "Don't say that, Tenten," he said.

"He hasn't shown any interest in me other than as a friend!" Tenten said. She was on the verge of tears, but she refused to start crying in front of the Uchiha boy. Tenten didn't want Sasuke to see her crying and make some smart remark about it.

"Maybe you and Neji aren't meant to be," said Sasuke.

"What do you mean?" Tenten asked.

"If he doesn't act any differently around you than he does with Lee, then the two of you are just friends. Just leave it at that. I'm sure there are other boys out there who may like you," Sasuke replied.

Unfortunately, Tenten had to agree with the Uchiha boy on this one. If she and Neji weren't meant to be, then why should she bother trying?

"I don't think any boy loves me," Tenten said. Uh-oh. The tears were coming now. "I'm just a tomboy who'll only be known for being good with weapons. Boys wouldn't be intererest in me. I'm not as pretty as Ino or Sakura or even Hinata."

Sasuke stroked Tenten's cheek. He hadn't let Tenten know, but he was developing feelings for her. These feelings weren't just because she didn't act all fangirly around him. Tenten had a spunk to her that Sasuke liked--and, in Sasuke's eyes, she was just as pretty as Sakura or Ino. No, scratch that. Sasuke thought Tenten was prettier than both girls.

"There's more to you than your weaponry," Sasuke said. "I know you seem a little cold on the outside, but you're a good person, Tenten. One day, you'll find somebody that's right for you."

"You, too, Uchiha," Tenten said, actually smiling at Sasuke for once. "You're not that bad, yourself."

Sasuke put his hands in the pockets of his parka. "You know, you still haven't thanked me for saving you," he said, his cockiness returning. Tenten smirked at Sasuke. Then, she softly kissed her dark-haired hero on the lips. When she pulled away from him, she was sure that Sasuke was blushing.

"T-Tenten," Sasuke gasped.

"Thank you, Sasuke," Tenten said, grinning. Sasuke was surprised that Tenten hadn't called him "Uchiha" and even more surprised that she had kissed him! But, as the saying goes, expect the unexpected.

"I really have to go now," Tenten said, smiling at Sasuke. "But I hope I'll see you again sometime, Uchi--I mean, Sasuke."

Sasuke grunted, and nodded. Tenten walked off. As she was walking, Sasuke watched her. Yup, there was definitely something that Sasuke saw in that girl. He had to let her know, before he forgot.

"Tenten! The florist closes at five, you know. It's six-thirty," Sasuke called out. Tenten turned around, groaning.

"Why the hell couldn't you have told me this sooner?" Tenten grumbled. "I've been out here, freezing myself, and you tell me the florist isn't even-"

Sasuke put a finger to Tenten's lips. "Shh," he whispered, a smile on his face. He took his finger away, and the two of them kissed. Yes, Tenten was freezing. Yes, Tenten was having her first kiss with Sasuke, and not Neji. Did it really matter to Tenten, though? No, it didn't.

After a few minutes, Sasuke and Tenten pulled away, blushing deeply.

"We-we really should be getting back to Konoha before it gets dark," Tenten said, not wanting to leave.

"Yes, we should," said Sasuke. He took Tenten by the hand, and the two of them walked to Konoha. For part of the way home, Tenten rested her head on Sasuke's shoulder. At that moment, Sasuke realized that he didn't have to tell Tenten his feelings for her. In a way, Tenten just knew.

TENTENTEN

"Neji, I'm back!" Tenten said, stepping into Neji's house. Sasuke had been kind enough to walk her up to Neji's door, and had been even nicer when he gave her a goodbye kiss before leaving to rejoin Naruto and Sakura.

"Hello, Tenten-chan. Neji-nii-san is in the living room with Ino-san," Hinata, who had opened up the door for Tenten, replied. Tenten nodded, and went into the living room, where she walked in on Neji and Ino kissing.

"Neji! Hi," Tenten said. Seeing Neji and Ino kiss didn't make Tenten queasy as it once would have. It was definitely because of Sasuke. He'd helped her feel better about Neji going out with Ino.

"Tenten. Hi. Where's the corsage?" Neji asked.

"You were getting me a corsage, Neji?" Ino asked, smiling.

"Er...Yes," Neji replied. "Tenten, where is it?"

"The florist was closed," Tenten simply replied.

"Then what took you so long to get back?" Neji asked.

A hint of a smile played on Tenten's lips as she remembered that great kiss she'd shared with Sasuke back in the village.

"Oh, you know...It was cold, so I had to get something to warm me up," Tenten said, thinking of Sasuke.

-END-

This is my first SasuTen story, so please be nice with reviews! I like that pairing, and I wonder why there aren't more SasuTen stories on this site.


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